Marantz NR1501 7.1-channel black home theater receiver

Not just compact . . . svelte

The A/V center in your living room is starting to get a little crowded. You've got a Blu-ray player, a DVR, a satellite receiver, a power conditioner, and maybe even a spare DVD player or DVD/VHS combo recorder. You've only got so much space to work with, and we haven't even mentioned the receiver yet. The hub of your entire system, receivers tend to be large, bulky creatures that occupy a premium of cabinet or shelf space. With all their connectivity options, built-in power amplification, and integrated surround sound decoding technologies, they have to be big, don't they? Actually, no, they don't. Delivering a plethora of advanced audio and video connectivity options, as well as 50W x 7 channels of power amplification and the latest decoding from Dolby and dts, the NR1501 receiver from Marantz still sports a compact footprint. It measures just 17.38" W x 4.19" H x 14.5" D. Add in smooth performance and a sleek look, and the NR1501 isn't just compact, it's svelte.

Today's audio experience

The high definition home theater is the modern home theater. Now, while you might be more than familiar with high definition 720p and 1080p video, you might be less familiar with HD audio. That's right: audio. Let's say you go out and buy a Blu-ray Disc player and some Blu-ray movies. Sure, you're getting full 1080p video and oodles of bonus features, but you're also getting 7.1-channel studio-quality surround sound. However, in order to direct all those surround sound effects to your seven-speaker audio system and subwoofer, you need to decode the digital signal found on HD sources like Blu-ray. Enter Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio decoding, found on the NR1501 home theater receiver from Marantz. This pair of audio processing decoding technologies is capable of fully the decoding lossless, studio-quality audio found on your favorite HD movie titles, serving up the audio experience the director intended for you to have.

MRAC custom audio

There's no such thing as a "typical home theater area". The layout of everyone's living room or home theater is different: different speaker configurations, different furniture arrangement, etc. Consequently, it can't be assumed that all audio systems will perform the same in all living rooms. With this notion in mind, the folks at Marantz have outfitted the NR1501 receiver with Marantz Room Acoustic Calibration, or MRAC. Working to optimize your audio system's performance to the unique acoustic properties of your listening area, MRAC performs a variety of automatic measurements and adjustments using an integrated microphone. First, MRAC identifies your system's speaker arrangement. Second, MRAC measures the distance between your speakers and your favorite listening position and optimizes delay settings. Third, MRAC adjusts relative speaker levels for the most natural surround effects. Third, MRAC determines the proper speaker crossover settings for the smoothest transition from wide-range-speaker to subwoofer audio. Finally, MRAC analyzes your room's acoustic properties and corrects for undesirable influences. The result is a custom audio experience right in your living room.

Get connected

As the Grand Central Station of your home theater, the receiver has to offer the right combination of inputs and outputs to meet your connectivity needs. Leading the NR1501's diverse repertoire of A/V connections, four HDMI inputs and one output offer advanced, single-cable audio and video transmission. For connection to non-HD video sources, the NR1501 offers three component-video inputs and three composite-video inputs, as well as component and composite output. On the audio side of things, two optical inputs and one coaxial input offer advanced digital connectivity, while six analog audio inputs serve up compatibility with older A/V equipment.

The advanced connectivity of HDMI

Bringing you the absolute best in connectivity, Marantz's NR1501 features four HDMI inputs and one output. HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is the only interface in consumer electronics that can carry both uncompressed high-definition (HD) video and uncompressed multi-channel audio in all HD formats including 720p, 1080i and even 1080p. Your incoming media content comes in a variety of sizes, resolutions and formats, and with that in mind, HDMI systems automatically configure to display that content in the most effective format. Since HDMI carries all channels on video and audio, there is only one cable to plug into any HDMI-enabled source and display device. No more complicated cable set-up when installing your home theater system, and no more ugly cable mess behind your components. HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on this single cable. Also, HDMI is fully backward-compatible with DVI. (Please note that a physical adapter, sold separately, is needed to make the conversion from HDMI to DVI.)

Your HD lifeline

High Definition Multimedia Interface, or HDMI, is the only home A/V connection that allows for both Full HD 1080p video and 7.1-channel studio-quality audio to be passes along a single cable. In other words, in order to take full advantage of your home theaterâ€™s high definition potential, you need to HDMI cabling to link HD-capable components. Itâ€™s only natural that you might have questions regarding how best to outfit your personal HD system. Vannâ€™s sales representatives are here to explain all of your options. Call the 800 number at the top of this page for expert advice.

In the box

Included with your purchase are: NR1501 receiver, remote control, 2 AAA batteries, AC power cord, AM loop antenna, FM antenna, microphone, user guide, warranty information